Old New Year Gala 2007

The tradition of celebrating Russian ‘Old New Year’ came from the old calendar used in Russia prior to the Revolution. This year, the exclusive and unique Russian Old New Year Gala Dinner took place in the magnificent surroundings of Guildhall, in the centre of London. A spectacular venue for the evening, Guildhall has been a centre of pageantry, colour and ceremony for over 800 years.

The dinner was held in conjunction with the annual Russian Winter Festival, organised by Eventica and Russian-British Cultural Association, which took place on Trafalgar Square on Saturday 13th January The Gala Dinner, on the eve of the Festival, was a star-studded evening of entertainment featuring the participation of celebrities, leading representatives from the Russian and British business community and key players from Government, media and the arts – all providing an ideal opportunity to combine business with pleasure.

Proceeds raised during the Gala Dinner supported the construction fund for “Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most-Holy Mother of God and Holy Royal Martyrs”.

Over the past years guests at the ‘Old New Year’ Gala Dinner included: Yuri Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow; Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London; HRH Prince Michael of Kent; Irina Kudrina, founder of one of the Festival charities, Northern Crown; Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom; Len Blavatnik, Chairman, Access Industries; Roger Munnings, Chairman, KPMG CIS; Maxim Shostakovich, conductor; Dmitry Peskov, Deputy Press Secretary of the Russian President; Sir Andrew Wood, former British Ambassador to Russia; Igor Finogenov, Member of the Board, Nomos-Bank; Stephen Webster, Designer; Donatella Flick; Lady Aliai Forte; Dmitry Bertman, Artistic Director, Helikon Opera; Alina Kabaeva, Russian Olympic gymnastics champion; Andrei Malakhov, TV presenter amongst many others.